Opinion: Rural Iowans would benefit from comprehensive regional or state-level planning for drinking water treatment and access

The passage of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act late last year marks a historic investment in infrastructure. Iowans will see billions of dollars in funding to address critical road repairs, public transportation investments, and much more. This includes $638 million to improve water infrastructure over five years, including funding to replace all lead pipes. 

Conversation is now happening around the specifics of how the funding will actually be spent by states. Gov. Kim Reynolds has also announced spending plans for the federal dollars provided through the American Rescue Plan Act. Most of that funding will go toward watershed protection projects and wastewater infrastructure.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan wrote to Governor Reynolds, urging her to direct infrastructure law dollars to historically underserved communities that face challenges accessing clean drinking water. In Iowa, many communities facing these challenges have difficulty affording costly upgrades, including small towns, rural Iowans, and marginalized communities that remain on lead service lines. The EPA says that such communities have not received their fair share of federal water infrastructure funding in the past, but the new law provides an historic opportunity to correct that disparity.  

Addressing lead and other problems with rural water is costly

Water infrastructure has seen little public investment in recent decades, with many public water systems relying on pipe and treatment facilities that are decades old. 

As documented in the Iowa Environmental Council’s “Rural Water Systems in Iowa: Analysis of Opportunities and Challenges” report released last year, in 2018 the U.S. EPA estimated $8 billion was needed to upgrade drinking water infrastructure in Iowa, primarily transmission and distribution (74%). EPA estimates that 20% of a person’s exposure to lead comes from water, climbing to 60% for infants fed with formula using tap water. While no level of lead exposure is safe for children, a recent study found that 76% of Iowa children under age 6 had detectable levels of lead in their bloodstream, the fourth-worst in the nation. 

Some states have established programs to address the replacement of lead service lines. Programs in New York and New Jersey prioritized lead service line replacement based on household income and infant blood lead levels. Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., provide support to residents to replace customer-owned lead service lines. Wisconsin’s lead service line replacement program prioritized assistance to municipalities based on hardship of raising revenue. This is often felt by small municipalities with fewer customers to spread costs across. 

Small municipal and rural water systems in Iowa face difficult decisions about how they can continue providing clean, safe drinking water to customers without substantially increasing rates. Water systems that have made upgrades in order to comply with drinking water standards have had to increase customer rates. Recently, the city of Fort Dodge passed a 3.5% increase in water rates to pay for upgrading its drinking water system. This equates to 75 cents to $3 per month for households. “We’re in danger of making water unaffordable in the community,” said one city councilperson.  

Statewide planning must be part of the solution

Rural Iowans would benefit from comprehensive regional or state-level planning for drinking water treatment and access. Such regional- or state-level planning could address issues that have become more urgent in recent years, including climate change impacts on water quantity and availability. A coordinated approach to identify issues and respond strategically would greatly benefit a chronically underinvested industry.

It would be smart and strategic for Reynolds to consider investing some of these federal dollars into such an initiative.  

Alicia Vasto is associate director of the Iowa Environmental Council's water program.